Sam Bankman-Fried gave $400m to tiny crypto fund

Media studies point out that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) despatched $400 million to Modulo Capital, a little-known crypto hedge fund run by a former Jane Road dealer with shut ties to the disgraced former FTX CEO.

In accordance with the New York Occasions (NYT), Modulo was established in March 2022 earlier than being the beneficiary of one in all SBF’s most important investments throughout his time on the helm of FTX.

The corporate reportedly had places of work in the identical compound as SBF’s residence in Nassau, Bahamas, and had no public profile or buying and selling historical past.

Modulo’s co-founder might have dated SBF

The NYT claims Duncan Rheingans-Yoo, one in all Modulo’s founders, had simply graduated from school two years earlier than beginning the corporate. Moreover, the publication mentioned Rheingans-Yoo’s enterprise associate, Xiaoyun Zhang, also called Lily, had a romantic previous with SBF. 

The report cited 4 unnamed individuals with alleged data of the connection who claimed Ms. Zhang labored at SBF’s former Wall Road agency, Jane Road, across the time Bankman-Fried had been there.

A spreadsheet revealed by the Monetary Occasions in December 2022 and reported on by crypto.information confirmed that Bankman-Fried’s different firm, Alameda Analysis, made two important investments in Modulo Capital of $250 million and $150 million within the third and fourth quarters of 2022.

It’s unknown how a lot cash Modulo had along with the funding made by SBF. Nonetheless, it began buying and selling cryptocurrencies simply earlier than FTX went underneath in November 2022. In accordance with the NYT report, the corporate is at the moment not working.

Funding sparked concern

SBF’s choice to place such large quantities into an unknown buying and selling start-up when his corporations had been dropping a lot cash has reportedly piqued the curiosity of legislation enforcement officers.

At Bankman-Fried’s bail listening to within the Bahamas, a day after he was arrested, prosecutors reportedly cited a sealed affidavit from a member of Bahamian legislation enforcement that indicated federal prosecutors in Manhattan had been trying into SBF’s Modulo funding to find out whether or not it was made utilizing illicit proceeds.

Moreover, authorized representatives for FTX’s new management are additionally trying into Modulo’s property, meaning to recoup the billions of {dollars} misplaced when the crypto change collapsed.

In accordance with studies, FTX’s attorneys made a slide presentation on January 17 to the corporate’s collectors that flagged the Modulo transaction as a first-rate candidate for recouping funds. Nonetheless, no person is aware of how a lot of the $400 million funding stays.

Despite the fact that neither Duncan Rheingans-Yoo nor Xiaoyun Zhang has been charged with a criminal offense, they’ve recruited Aitan Goelman, a felony protection legal professional and former director of enforcement for the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC).